I’m approximately five months at site at the time of this post going out. Something that I didn’t even think about before coming to Tonga has been something that coincidentally has been the hardest challenge I’ve faced. Adjusting to the speed and lifestyle of living in Tonga.
Being your average broke person in America, my struggles are not unique; I stress over deadlines, I live paycheck to paycheck, a large chunk of my yearly salary going towards a landlord that I have nothing to show for, and often, not being able to see a light at the end of the tunnel. While I continue to live and acclimate into my community, I have grown to both notice and appreciate the happiness that can arise from eliminating those stressors from one’s life and replacing them with joyous sustainability. Let me delve into that-
Tongans don’t pay rent. The property one’s house resides on is property of that person’s family, passed on for generations. Most men work in the uta (bush/farmland). While this can be done for income, the vast majority of men in the uta are gathering and providing food for their families. Health care is free- Tongans are free to create large families and have their medical expenses covered. Now not everything is free in Tonga, there are plenty of normal expenses that a person in any other country has, from gas in your car to clothing on your back. But with all the major stressors that prevent people in America from thriving and being taken care of, Tongans have a beautiful blueprint to create beautiful families that can live beautiful lives. Truth be told, I want a family, I want a home, and all the things like that; but truth be told again, I’m not getting any younger (or cuter), and public school teachers aren’t making any more money in America, especially with the new administration. I envy the ability to be able to provide, to establish a home base that I own, the ability to go to a doctor when I need to; I call it the Cam Special when I wait til multiple things are wrong with me before I go to the doctor to save money and bundle it all into one trip. My brain is changing and I’m growing a deeper appreciation for the Tongan family.
On another note, it took a long while, but I am making some solid progress in language. The four other volunteers I share an island with are without a doubt excelling in language. They put in the work, and it shows. It was discouraging for a while because I knew I was making the effort, but the fruits of my labor were putrid in comparison. Having recently been sent back to the main island for a quick medical trip, with a slow 24-hour ferry ride to get there (I got bit by a dog and needed to get a rabies vaccine), I was able to see some of the other volunteers I hadn’t seen in months. I was able to hear about every project they were working on, hear them talk about their communities, and also get a wider picture of language proficiency across the board. It felt reassuring that everyone was making progress at different speeds. I’ve been a teacher now for going on six years so I should have understood everyone learns at different speeds and in different ways. But I have come a long way since I told my principal, while I was attempting to speak Tongan, that I enjoyed going to his church because it was trash. I meant to say fast (veve = trash, vave = fast). I retested my language level during our in-service training a few months ago and I got a bump from intermediate-low to intermediate-mid, nice!
Mental health-wise I would say I am doing well. How you cope when times get tough is a question that the Peace Corps asks you during the application/interview process. I turned what could be seen as the negatives of living in such a rural part of such a remote island into what I use to recharge my mental. I like going for walks by myself to random mountain peaks, leaving my phone at home, and looking into the vast ocean, seeing distant islands and even a volcano many, many, miles away. I enjoy sitting on a cliff ledge, throwing a fishing line into the ocean, and maybe catching a fish once an hour. I enjoy riding my bike through the bush roads attempting to get some sweet air; I act like I have a spare bike tube if mine pops when I very much do not. While nearly every moment of every part of my day I am awake is spent with my community and at my school, I will say I am happy I can get away now and then and spend some time with myself. It might sound strange, but I also enjoy talking to myself during these outings. I used to be an avid, daily, journaler, but honestly, I find saying it out loud does just as much good. I also like the level of anonymity. I had a person from my past admit to reading through my personal journal and ever since then it’s been difficult for me to put the pen to the pad.
I’m greatly looking forward to June. An unspecified number of new Peace Corps trainees are shipping off to Tonga. Being as rural as I am there’s a good chance, I won’t get to meet a good number of the newbies during my service. However, I have received some intel that there is a good chance a volunteer or two might get placed in the villages a few kilometers away from mine. There’s a bush road that’s mountain-bikeable to the nearest of mine, it’s a thrilling ride and takes about an hour. The prospect of having a new friend to kick it with and show around the west side is something I’m manifesting. I’m doing well right now and I look forward to waking up most days, but I do feel a good friend that I can trust somewhat near me would improve my service.
A few other miscellaneous thoughts I’m having this rainy Sunday…
– I think I’ve listened to Alvvays’ entire discography about 20 times since getting to Vava’u. They might be my favorite band ever. My two favorite songs are Adult Diversion and Party Police. Molly Renkin if you’re reading this can you consider playing a show in Vava’u? I will give you all the ota ika (raw fish) your heart desires.
– I miss cheese, dive bars, and wearing sweaters.
– Any day now Trump’s BFF could pull the plug on Peace Corps which is deeply unsettling.
– I want to pursue photojournalism after this. So much so that I recently ordered my dream street and documentation analog photography camera. It will be in my closet at my dad’s house waiting for me until I get home (t-minus 18-months). I’d use it In Tonga but I don’t think it would survive the humidity. My computer I type this on right now has only half a working screen. Hopefully, it survives, otherwise, blogposts on the phone might be the end of me.
– I’ve seen some wild sea monsters recently including a giant sea turtle (I’d guess it was almost five feet), squid, giant wrasse, the occasional floating coconut that I always think is a head at first, enormous schools of large mystery fish, barracuda, ray, lionfish, sea snake, and even some shark. I will not be jumping off the cliff where I saw the shark anymore, nope, nope, nope. Read my last blog post to see that spot.
– I was frolicking through the woods the other day and was attacked by giant Asian hornets. The stinging made me knock off my backpack and hat. When tiptoeing in the woods to get my stuff back, those bastards attacked me again. Turns out they can have underground hives. Trying to explain thatsituation to Tongans using Tongan language proved to be too difficult for me. Once I was able to get the message across they all had a good laugh. Silly palangi.
Peace (Corps) and love,
– Kamaloni Sorta
Cam's Peace Corps Tonga Blog 
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